Yu Li, that is, the prefect of Pengze County, who seemed to have come to help Xie An, but was driven away by Wei Hu's 8,000 Taiping troops, Xie An met him in the Shuai tent a quarter of an hour later.

According to Xie An's visual measurements, Yu Li is about forty years old, with a Chinese face, the outline of his face is as resolute as a knife, and he does not look like an official in his gestures, but like a military general, so Xie An can also understand how this person has the courage to lead an army of less than 10,000 people to help him under the nose of 150,000 Taiping troops.

But having said that, Xie An can also understand this, after all, at present, he, the criminal department of the Jijing Imperial Court, personally led the army to fight with the Taiping Thief Army in the Hukou area, and it was in an unfavorable situation, then Yu Li, as the prefect of Pengze County, if he stood by and watched this, it was very likely that he would be harshly reprimanded by the Jijing Imperial Court afterwards and blamed him [Witnessing Shangguan being subject to the enemy and not thinking about rescue], as the so-called official level crushes people to death, sometimes it is not a question of whether you want to do it or not, but since you are sitting in this position, you are bound to do something, to be honestIt is true that many people in history have died in this restriction.

Because of this, after Xie An saw this person, he did not mention why Yu Li would raise troops to help him, but asked his soldiers to prepare a table of banquets, and asked Gou Gong, Ding Qiu and Liang Cheng and other military generals of the Liang Army to accompany him, and the right was to suppress the shock for the prefect of Pengze County, after all, this person almost died in the hands of Wei Hu, the Taiping Army [Tianquan Divine General], and it was all up to his subordinates to rescue him in a desperate battle.

After three rounds of drinking, seeing that the relationship between the two was no longer as strange as when they first met, Xie An said with a guilty face, "Lord Yu has been affected by the government this time, and the government is really guilty and uneasy...... I'm afraid that Lord Yu doesn't know, in fact, the mansion is definitely not a person with a chicken belly, even if Lord Yu doesn't raise troops to help. In the future, the government will not blame the adults and their colleagues in the Pengze Mansion for this. Although these words were a little late, the government was still very grateful for the help of the adults...... On behalf of the whole battalion of our army, I respect the soldiers of Pengze County who fought bravely against the Taiping thief army! - To the soldiers of Pengze County! ”

"To the soldiers of Pengze County!" Gou Gong, Ding Qiu, Liang Cheng and others raised their glasses together.

Yu Li, the prefect of Pengze County, was stunned when he heard this, and then hurriedly raised his glass to have a toast with Xie An and the others, and then asked curiously, "Why did Lord Xie say this?" - Didn't Lord Xie receive a letter from his subordinates? ”

"Huh? Letter? What letter? ”

"Huh?" Yu Li, the prefect of Pengze Mansion, was even more surprised when he heard this, and said in confusion, "About five or six days ago, Xia Guan learned that Lord Xie personally led 80,000 Liang troops to fight the Taiping Thief Army here. The lower official's thoughts, the lower official is also a courtier of the Great Zhou, seeing that the upper official led his division here to resist the enemy, how can he not mention the aid of troops? Therefore, Xia Guan once sent his henchmen to send a letter to Lord Xie. agreed to bring 6,000 soldiers and horses to help Lord Xie today...... Although there are few soldiers and generals, it is difficult to help adults sweep away the thief army, but it is also a piece of my heart in Pengze County! ――Didn't you receive it? ”

Xie An was stunned and shook his head blankly.

Yu Li, the prefect of Pengze County, opened his mouth wordlessly, then slapped his thigh in pain, shook his head and sighed, "So it sees." Most of them were intercepted by the thieves...... The officials still wondered why it was obvious that it was crossing the river at the mouth of a remote river bridge, and it was cautious to rush to help the adults, why it would alarm the Taiping Army. He was ambushed on the way...... I see! ”

Seeing Yu Li's distressed expression, Xie An did not ask any more questions, after all, although the six thousand Pengze County officers and soldiers led by Yu Li this time did not make the entire Hukou battlefield have the slightest positive effect. But in the end, this is people's good intentions, and this kind of thing refutes people's feelings. Xie Anke will not do it.

Motioning with his eyes to Liang Cheng, who was sitting next to Yu Li, poured a glass of wine for the prefect of Pengze County, Xie An nodded and comforted, "Lord Yu, rest assured, the loyalty of the soldiers of Pengze County, the government will never dare to forget, after quelling this rebellion, I will personally go to the court to correct the name of Pengze County!" -- For all the soldiers who died, the imperial court will definitely give them generous pensions! ”

Yu Li reluctantly squeezed out a smile on his face when he heard this, and said with a wry smile, "Thank you, my lord, thank you for being so kind, the lower officials thought that those sacrificed soldiers could also be blinded under Jiuquan!" ”

"Where is it...... Xie An smiled with a sigh on his face, and then asked curiously, "Speaking of which, why is Lord Yu so anxious to contact the mansion?" -- Don't blame the Mansion for speaking bluntly and mercilessly, Lord Yu led 8,000 good sons of Pengze County to contact the Mansion under the noses of 150,000 Taiping thieves, this is really too risky......"

"Lord Xie taught me a lesson......" Yu Li smiled bitterly when he heard this, and after thinking for a while, he explained in a low voice, "Actually, the lord misunderstood, the lower official was not afraid that the imperial court would reprimand me in the future, and Peng Zejun stood by in this counterrebellion, so he raised troops to help Lord Xie, in fact, if the adult has few soldiers this time, even if he risks being hated by Lord Xie, the lower official may not dare to leave Pengze County lightly......"

"What do you mean?"

"That's the case, don't hide it from Lord Xie, Xiaguan is the prefect of Pengze Mansion, and the Taiping Army has been frequently active in the vicinity for several years, how can Xiaguan not know? -- In fact, not only the lower officials, but also some of the colleagues in the other counties and counties now know very well that many of the Taiping Thieves are lurking in the vicinity, and the problem is that we have few soldiers in our hands, and the Taiping Thieves Army is secretive, so it is really difficult to eradicate this malignant tumor! ”

"Hmm!" Xie An nodded deeply when he heard this, in his opinion, the Taiping army of more than 100,000 people at every turn is indeed not something that the local governments in Jiangnan can deal with, even if it is a major city like Peng Ze, there are only about 15,000 city guards, and the number of garrisons in the rest of the counties is even less, the strength of an ordinary county town is only 4,000 to 6,000 on the base, and the county town is even less, it would be good to have a thousand people stationed there, which is also the reason why Li Xian transferred troops from Daliang to Xie An, after all, in his opinion, The forces in the hands of the local governments in the south of the Yangtze River can only be used as support or purely as a logistical role, and it is difficult to organize together to effectively block the Taiping army.

Seeing Xie An nodding in agreement with his opinion, Yu Li took a deep breath, clasped his fists and continued, "And now the situation is very different, Lord Xie brought 80,000 Great Liang troops here, although the number is not as good as the thief army, but after all, the Great Liang Army is well-trained and well-armed. Can the Taiping thieves be able to stop it? - The lower official thinks that Lord Xie is stationed here, even if he is forced by the thieves for a while, he will be able to sweep away the thief army one day! ”

Xie An smiled unconsciously when he heard this, who doesn't like to listen to flattery, although he knows very well that he is not [forced by thieves for a while], it is really the Taiping army thieves, and he is not alone to be able to defeat him.

"That's why the lower official has raised troops here!" Raised the pitch a bit. Yu Li clenched his fists and said, "Help Lord Xie sweep away the Taiping Thief Army!" ――Not only my comrades in Pengze-gun, but also in nearby counties......"

"Colleagues from nearby counties?" Xie An, who heard the deep meaning of Yu Li's words, was stunned when he heard this.

"That's right," Xie An looked puzzled when he saw him. Yu Li explained in a low voice, "In fact, before the Lord led the army here, the lower officials had secretly discussed it privately with their colleagues in the nearby counties, but because of the huge strength of the Taiping Thief Army, we didn't dare to act rashly, and now the Lord is here with 80,000 Liang troops, just to wipe out the thief army in one fell swoop!" ”

Xie An's eyes flashed with interest when he heard this. Raising his hand, he said, "Could it be that the Lord has a clever plan?" Tell me more! ”

"Yes!" Yu Li hugged his fists, lowered his voice a little and said, "Lord Xie knows." In the mountains and forests on the east bank of Poyang Lake, where the Taiping Army secretly hoarded grain and grass? ”

"I've heard a little!" Xie An nodded, after all, He Tao of Jinling had told him so about this matter, but he didn't dare to conclude.

"Lord Xie is really well-informed." Yu Li glanced at Xie An in surprise. Then he groaned and said, "It's easy for adults to know about this!" -- Earlier. The place where the thief army stores grain must be heavily guarded, and now, because of Lord Xie, the main force of more than 100,000 Taiping troops are confronting the adults in the Hukou area, and the lower officials think that in this way, the place where the thief army stores grain must be empty and empty......"

Xie An frowned slightly, touched his chin and muttered, "Lord Yu means to attack his granary?" ”

"Not bad!" Yu Li nodded and said sharply, "According to the secret visit of the lower officials in the coming year, the Taiping army is near here, and only Poyang Lake is where the grain is stored, if we can burn down its grain in one fell swoop, the Taiping thief army is not afraid!" ”

"Hmm......" Xie An nodded when he heard this, and then shook his head again.

It is undeniable that he is very excited about Li's suggestion, no, it should be said, in fact, he had this kind of plan before this, the problem is that the 150,000 Taiping army is staring at him closely, even if he quietly sends a surprise army, it is difficult to pass through the sphere of influence of the Taiping army and attack Poyang Lake behind him.

As the so-called three armies have not moved, grain and grass go first, the importance of grain and grass Xie An is still very clear, if he can do it, he would have sent someone a long time ago, how can it be equivalent to the prefect of Pengze County to remind?

As if he had guessed what Xie Anxin was thinking, Yu Li lowered his voice and said, "Your Excellency misunderstood, the lower official did not ask your lord to send troops to burn the grain and grass in the thief army's grain ......"

"Huh?" Xie An glanced at Yu Li strangely and asked in surprise, "What does Lord Yu mean?" ”

"Don't hide it from your lordship, in fact, before raising troops here, Xia Guan had sent his henchmen to disguise themselves as merchants, go south to Yuzhang, and bring rescue troops to the prefect of Yuzhang County, Kong Yankong, and ask him to send troops to attack Poyang Lake from the rear and burn the grain and grass hidden by the thieves in the area of Poyang Lake...... At present, the target of the Taiping Thief Army is Lord Xie, and the main force of 150,000 is stationed here, it should not be expected that Lord Kong will raise troops from the rear and attack the grain in his rear! ”

As soon as these words came out, everyone in the tent exclaimed, especially Liang Cheng and other generals of the Liang Army, who were full of red light, as if they had defeated the Taiping Army.

"It's a great plan, it's a great plan, my lord!" Unable to hide the happy smile on his face, Liang Cheng turned his head to look at Xie An, and said with joy and self-reproach, "Yes, although our army is stopped here by the thief army, it can use the strength of the officers and soldiers of the nearby counties...... I didn't think of that! ”

In fact, it's no wonder that Liang Cheng didn't think of it, even Xie An didn't think of it, after all, he was only thinking about how to defeat the 150,000 Taiping army with the 80,000 Liang army in his hands these days, and he would tie it to death here at the worst time, but he ignored that there were actually a lot of troops at the junction of Jing and Yang that he could use, and you must know that Li Xian gave Xie An the right to freely dispatch troops from any county in the south of the Yangtze River before he appeared.

It can only be said that Xie An is still a little lacking in the overall situation, and there is still a long way to go compared with a military strategist like Changsun Xiangyu.

"Bypass the Taiping Army and go south to look at Yuzhang to move the rescue troops...... Wonderful! Wonderful! ――Unless you are reminded by adults, the government almost missed a big event! Xie An had to admit that he was negligent and forgot that he still had the right to dispatch soldiers and horses from various counties and counties in the south of the Yangtze River.

"Lord Xie's words are serious, your lord is just a fan of the authorities." Seeing Xie An's praise, Yu Li's smile on his face was even worse. He toasted a glass of wine with Xie An with great interest, then raised his hand to wipe the wine stains on his mouth, and said happily, "Xia Guan thinks that the attention of the Taiping thief army is on the camp of the adults at this moment, and they will definitely not be wary of attacks from the rear, so there is a good chance that Lord Kong's trip will be successful, and once the granary at the mouth of Poyang Lake is burned." The Taiping Thieves Army is bound to be in chaos, and it is bound to retreat to Jingzhou, and when the time comes, the adults can lead the elite soldiers and horses to cover up and kill, and they will definitely be able to hit the Taiping Thieves Army hard! ”

"Hmm. Not! ――I don't know when the prefect of Yuzhang County, Kong Yankong, will set off? Xie An nodded again and again, to be honest, if he wasn't able to do it, how could he be willing to avoid the battle? Naturally, he repelled the Taiping army early and went to Jiangling in Nanjun to support Li Xian, but now that there is such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity in front of him, how can he not be tempted?

"This ......," Yu Li frowned and calculated. said, "Xia Guan is the rescue soldier who sent someone to move to Master Kong five or six days ago, that is, on July 20, and Xia Guan's henchman. It should be possible to reach Yuzhang in two days, so if all goes well, Master Kong should be able to raise his troops and set out on July 23...... However, Yuzhang is some distance from Poyang Lake. Moreover, on the way, we must also beware of the Taiping Army to learn about this, well. In any case, it will take four to five days for Master Kong to lead his troops to the mountains and forests on the east bank of Poyang Lake...... It should be today, or tomorrow! -- Your Excellency might as well ask someone to climb the heights to pay attention to the direction of Poyang Lake, and the lower officials think that in order to act smoothly, Master Kong will definitely choose to attack the granary of the thief army at night, so that as long as Lord Kong's side acts smoothly and sets fire to the granary of the thief army, the fire can be clearly seen even if it is more than a hundred miles away! ”

"Good, good!" Xie appeased his palms and praised a few times, turned his head and instructed Liang Cheng to say, "Liang Cheng, these days have asked the soldiers to pay close attention to the south, if there is a fire in the distance in the south, report me immediately!" -- Also, ask the officers and men of the battalion to be ready to attack at any time! ”

Liang Cheng was also happy when he heard this, hugged his fists when he heard this, and said with an excited face, "Yes!" The last will obey! ”

After Xie An and Yu Li drank and talked for a while, they asked a general of the Great Liang Army to take them to the camp to rest, and the remaining more than 3,000 officers and soldiers of Pengze County under his command were placed near the Xiying, and Xie An asked the men in the camp to take care of the soldiers of this army.

I don't know if it was because of the opportunity to defeat the 150,000 Taiping army and was excited, or simply because of the drinking, Xie An still didn't feel sleepy until the time.

Wang Xin, the little girl, was very happy about this, after all, Xie An had been sleeping with the mirage Qin Ke'er in her arms for the past few days, which made this little girl very apprehensive and sullen all day long.

At two o'clock, Liang Cheng suddenly hurried to announce that the fire was raging a hundred miles to the south.

Xie An was overjoyed when he heard this, and with the support of the little girl Wang Xin and Liang Cheng, he personally came to the Nanying Gatehouse to take a look.

Sure enough, as Liang Cheng said, I saw that a hundred miles away in the south, the fire rose to the sky, out of control, looking from a distance, it seemed that even the mountains were burning, although the distance was far away, but Xie An and others could also see it clearly.

It is not difficult to guess that it must have been Kong Yan, the prefect of Yuzhang County, who successfully sent troops to attack the granary of the Taiping army in the mountains and forests on the east bank of Poyang Lake at night.

"Good! That's great! Xie An clenched his fists excitedly.

Beside him, Liang Cheng, the commander of the Great Liang Army, was also full of excitement, and said eagerly, "My lord, take this opportunity to send troops to attack the camp of the Taiping Army?" ”

"No, wait until sunrise!" Holding back the excitement in his heart, Xie An said vigilantly, "Right now, the Taiping army should have guessed the changes behind them, although they are a little panicked, but if our army attacks at this moment, I am afraid it will not be cheap...... Wait until tomorrow dawn, when the Taiping army is ready to return to Jingzhou, we will send troops to pursue and cover up! ”

"That'...... What if the Taiping Army learned that the situation was not good, and fled overnight? ”

"Don't be afraid, the government will ask Mo Fei to lead the assassins in Dongling to closely monitor the movements of the Taiping army, and not afraid that they will escape...... Besides, even if they leave 150,000 people overnight, where can they flee to? ”

"Your Excellency!" Although there were some regrets, Liang Cheng obviously knew what was wrong, and nodded when he heard the words.

At dawn the next day, news came from Mo Fei, who had not returned all night, that sure enough, there was turmoil in the Taiping army, and it seemed that several troops and horses had slowly withdrawn to the west.

Xie Anzhong was overjoyed by this, and while wearing armor under the service of Mirage Qin Ke'er, he instructed Liang Cheng and other generals to prepare to go out of the camp to pursue.

From beginning to end, the little girl Wang Xin looked at Xie An sullenly, watching him put on armor under Qin Ke'er's service, and for a long time, she said with deep concern and concern, "Brother, do you really want to take those soldiers and big brothers to fight against the bad guys of the Taiping Army?" ”

"What's wrong?" Xie An looked at her with a smile, and it could be seen that he was in a really good mood today.

"It's nothing...... Didn't my brother say that he wouldn't fight if he was killed? - What to say, no matter what [tempting] tricks those bad guys of the Taiping Army use, my brother will not fight......"

"You girl, you just want your brother to accompany you more, right? ――Brother, have you spent less time with you these days? -- Also [tempting] the plan, that is called the [luring the enemy] plan, I have time to read more books! Xie An shook his head angrily, and as soon as he finished speaking, he himself was stunned.

That's right, I clearly said that I wouldn't bring troops out of the camp no matter what happened, how could I suddenly change my mind?

But then again, Yu Li's suggestion was really good, and he burned the grain and grass of the Taiping army very smoothly......

Xie An's face showed a little relief, but when he thought about it, he felt that something was wrong.

Wait a minute......

In fact, I didn't witness the Taiping army's grain and grass being burned, although I did see the fire......

Yes, the seemingly smooth plan actually only came from the mouth of Yu Li, the governor of Pengze County, and it was a follow-up based on the point of view that Yu Li [can trust]......

However, I don't know that Yu Li, how can I venture to speculate whether that Yu Li is trustworthy?

What if Yu Li is not [able to be trusted]?

“…… Liang Cheng, pass on General Liang Cheng to see me! - Instantly! ”